December 30th, 2014 by Doree

Seattle Public Utilities will not pick up garbage, yard waste or recycling on New Year’s Day. The South Recycling and Disposal Station in the South Park area also will be closed (the North Station in Fremont/Wallingford remains closed for renovation). If your pickup day normally occurs on Thursday or Friday, your waste will be collected one day later this week.

Don’t forget that you can recycle your Christmas tree and holiday greens for free through Jan. 11 if you subscribe to food and yard waste collection.

Multi-family buildings can put out one tree next to each food and yard waste cart per collection day at no extra charge during this time.

Trees should be cut into sections of six feet long or shorter, with branches trimmed to less than four feet to fit into the collection trucks. Sections should be bundled with string or non-plastic twine. Metal, plastic and ornaments in trees and wreaths must be removed.

Trees that are flocked and/or have tinsel or ornaments will be collected as extra garbage. Customers will need to cut the tree into three-foot pieces and each piece will be charged as extra garbage. Each unit of extra garbage costs $10.20. Plastic trees are not compostable.

Seattle residents can also drop off holiday trees and greens for free at Seattle Public Utilities’ South Recycling and Disposal station from Dec. 26, 2014 through Jan. 11, 2015. The tree sections must be cut to eight feet or less in length and the trunk must be four inches or smaller in diameter. The limit is three trees per vehicle. Only trees and wreaths without flocking or decoration may be composted free of charge.

The South Recycling and Disposal Station is located at 130 S. Kenyon St. The station is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m, other than selected holidays.

For information on where to dispose of household hazardous waste, including station locations and hours, contact www.HazWasteHelp.org or (206) 296-4692.

December 30th, 2013 by Doree

Seattle Public Utilities will not pick up garbage, recycling or yard waste on Wednesday, New Year’s Day. Customers with regularly scheduled waste pickup on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will have their waste collected one day later than usual. The city’s Recycling and Disposal Stations will be closed on Wednesday.

Remember, yard waste customers can put out their Christmas tree and holiday greens at no extra charge through Jan 12. (Multi-family buildings can put out one tree next to each food and yard waste cart per collection day at no extra charge.)

Trees should be cut into sections of six feet long or shorter, with branches trimmed to less than four feet to fit into the collection trucks. Sections should be bundled with string or non-plastic twine. Metal, plastic and ornaments in trees and wreaths must be removed.

Trees that are flocked and/or have tinsel or ornaments will be collected as extra garbage. Customers will need to cut the tree into three-foot pieces and each piece will be charged as extra garbage. Each unit of extra garbage costs $10. Plastic trees are not compostable.

Seattle residents can also drop off holiday trees and greens for free at Seattle Public Utilities’ North and South Recycling and Disposal stations from Dec. 26, 2013 through Jan. 12, 2013. The tree sections must be cut to eight feet or less in length and the trunk must be four inches or smaller in diameter. The limit is three trees per vehicle. Only trees and wreaths without flocking or decoration may be composted free of charge.

December 19th, 2013 by Doree

Seattle Public Utilities has lots of friendly reminders about how to dispose of garbage, recycling and yard waste this time of year.

There’s no solid waste collection on Christmas Day. Customers whose normal pickup days are Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, will have their waste collected one day later than normal next week. The city’s Recycling and Disposal stations will be closed on Christmas Day as well.

Customers who subscribe to yard waste pickup can put out their Christmas tree and other greens for no extra charge from Dec. 26 through Jan. 12. (Multi-family buildings can put out one tree next to each food and yard waste cart per collection day at no extra charge.) Trees should be cut into sections no longer than six feet, with branches trimmed to less than four feet. Sections should be bundled with string or non-plastic twine. Metal, plastic and ornaments must be removed. Trees with flocking, tinsel or ornaments will be collected as extra garbage. (Those trees need to be cut into three-foot pieces and each piece will be charged as extra garbage. Each unit of extra garbage costs $10.20.) Regular residential food and yard waste collection rates resume on Monday, Jan. 13; the fee for extra yard waste is $4.90 per unit.

Customers can drop off holiday trees and greens for free at Seattle Public Utilities’ North and South Recycling and Disposal stations from Dec. 26 through Jan. 12. Tree sections must be eight feet or less in length and the trunk must be four inches or smaller in diameter. Limit of three trees per vehicle. The North Recycling and Disposal Station is at 1350 N. 34th St. It’s open daily from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except holidays.

Household hazardous waste: Fluorescent bulbs and tubes, Ni-Cad and Lithium rechargeable and other batteries can be disposed of for free at Seattle’s Household Hazardous waste stations. The nearest one to our neighborhood is at 12550 Stone Ave. N. (one block east of Aurora Avenue). Incandescent light bulbs, regular Christmas lights and alkaline batteries (such as AA, AAA, C and D) can go in the garbage, however, some places will recycle them.

You can always put out extra recycling for free. Put it in sturdy boxes or 32-gallon cans next to your recycling cart on your regular collection day.

Recycling do’s and don’ts:

Styrofoam packaging can’t be recycled. Many local mail houses accept packing peanuts for reuse; Styro Recycle in Renton will accept styrofoam for recycling. Otherwise, Styrofoam and packing peanuts go in the garbage (but put peanuts in a bag first so they don’t scatter).

Flattened cardboard goes in your recycling cart. If it doesn’t fit, put it next to your cart.

Ribbons and bows go in the garbage.

Gift wrap goes in the recycling. (Don’t burn it; it’s toxic.)

Greeting cards, catalogs and envelopes go in the recycling bin, even if they have plastic windows or staples.

Electronics can’t be recycled or put in the garbage because they contain hazardous materials. Go to www.ecyclewashington.org or www.takeitbacknetwork.org for locations to drop off your old TVs, monitors and computers.

If you’re not sure what can be recycled or where to do it, you can look it up on this website.

August 30th, 2013 by Doree

Seattle Public Utilities will pick up garbage, yard waste and recycling on Monday like usual, despite the Labor Day holiday. SPU customers should put out their cans by 7 a.m.

The North and South Recycling and Disposal stations will be open during regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The North Recycling and Disposal Station is located at 1350 N. 34th St. in Fremont/Wallingford.

August 14th, 2013 by Doree

Waste Management is looking for eight non-profits in Greenwood, Crown Hill and North Ballard who could use $5,000 each. The money comes from Waste Management’s neighborhood competition to reduce waste. The Wednesday North area won the Think Green Recycling Challenge, beating out nine other neighborhoods.

Last fall, the Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) agreed to be the community partner with WM and will be facilitating the grant process, which will award eight grants of $5,000 each. Any nonprofit or community group with a nonprofit fiscal sponsor in the Greenwood/Crown Hill neighborhood is eligible to apply. Applications are available online at www.phinneycenter.org.

Because this program is about building community as much as it is about waste reduction, grants are intended to support groups that are already doing great work in the community and do not have to focus on recycling or waste reduction.

And since this is the community’s grant, all of the applying organizations will help make the decision on the grants as part of the selection process.

The deadline to apply is Sept. 16, 2013. For additional information, contact Ann Bowden at ann@phinneycenter.org.

May 24th, 2013 by Doree

Monday customers of Seattle Public Utilities‘ garbage, yard waste, and recycling pickups should put their waste out on Memorial Day like always.

The City of Seattle’s Recycling and Disposal stations will be open during their regular business hours as well, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The North Station is at 1350 N. 34th St. in Fremont/Wallingford.

February 14th, 2013 by Doree

Seattle Public Utilities will pick up garbage, yard waste and recycling like usual on Monday, even though it’s a holiday. Make sure your containers are set out by 7 a.m.

The North Recycling and Disposal Station in Fremont/Wallingford also will be open on Monday during regular business hours, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Also, SPU is reminding customers that it will pick up bulky items such as couches, beds or dishwashers for a $30 fee ($38 for items containing gases). Call 206-684-3000 to request a bulky item collection. (The Recycling and Disposal stations accept bulky items for the same $30 fee.)

If you want to recycle a refrigerator or a freezer, Seattle City Light will pay you $30 and pick it up for free. Call 1-877-577-0510 or visit www.jacoinc.net to schedule a pick up.

December 20th, 2012 by Doree

Seattle Public Utilities will not pick up customers’ garbage, recyling or yard waste on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Customers with Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday collections will have their waste picked up one day later than usual those weeks.

Seattle Public Utilities is telephoning customers this week to let them know of the change.

Both of the city’s Recycling and Disposal Stations will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

September 25th, 2012 by Doree

The City of Seattle has reached a $1.24 million settlement with Waste Management over its Teamsters Union drivers’ eight-day strike last month. That means residential customers will receive a $10 credit on their November-December bill for missed collections. Apartment/condo buildings and business customers will receive a $50 credit.